Microsoft Cuts Xbox Price To $249 Ahead Of New Console Release

Microsoft announced yet another price cut for the Xbox One bundle on July 24, bringing the price down to $249 “for a limited time,” according to Microsoft. The company has brought down the price three times in less than two months.

The console was priced at $349 in May before dropping to $299, then $279, before the July 24 announcement. The bundle includes a 500GB Xbox One.

The price cuts come in anticipation of Microsoft’s upcoming console, the Xbox One S, which is slated for release August 2. The new console is 40 percent slimmer than the original, will have a “robot white” casing, and will be priced at $299 for the lowest capacity console available.

The sale currently allows buyers to purchase “the Gears of War: Ultimate Edition bundle, the Special Edition Quantum Break bundle with white console, and the Name your Game bundle, which allows you to choose a full game download of one of four blockbuster titles: Forza Motorsport 6, Rise of the Tomb Raider, Gears of War: Ultimate Edition, or Rare Replay,” according to Microsoft.

The Xbox One S will have a limited edition 2TB console for $399 available “while supplies last,” but will also sell a 1TB console for $349 and a 500GB console for the starting price of $299 some time later in the year.

Microsoft announced the development of the Xbox One S at this year’s E3 convention, held in June. Along with the slimmer design and enhanced memory storage, the new console also boasts the ability to play 4K media.

Microsoft also announced that a partnership with Netflix and Amazon Video will allow users to stream media from those websites. Additionally, the Xbox One S will feature “High Dynamic Range (HDR) support for video and gaming, so you can experience richer, more luminous colors.”

The new console removes the Kinect port built into previous editions of the Xbox, so users of both devices will need an Xbox Kinect adapter. Microsoft is offering the adapters free of charge with purchase.

The console will also have wireless controls with twice the wireless range of previous controls, and will be compatible with all existing Xbox One products.

The company appears to be pushing Xbox One consoles out the door, as it announced in June that anyone who purchases a Surface Pro 4 for $899 can get a free Xbox One as well, until August 14, after the release of the new Xbox.

Along with the new Xbox release date, August 2 also marks the anniversary of the release of Windows 10. In anticipation of the release date, Microsoft is releasing a major update for the operating system, as well as offering all current Windows users the ability to upgrade to Windows 10 for free.

The new OS will be updated more regularly than previous update schedules, and will include a host of new features, including the ability for voice assistant Cortana to work even when devices are locked or not in use, and the ability for facial recognition-based login systems on compatible websites.

The New Xbox One S will be compatible with and run Windows 10, and allow players to play the same game on both the gaming console and a PC without loading different game plays, in a new feature called Xbox Play Anywhere.

Although games must be Play Anywhere compatible and must be digital purchases, the offer expands options for gamers who previously would have needed to choose one console to play a game.

Xbox Live will be available on Windows 10, and the voice assistant Cortana will be migrating over to the Xbox as well.

The new console is anticipated to fly off shelves upon its release, and the company is expected to drop the lower capacity versions before Christmas.

[Photo By Bryan Thomas/Getty Images]